We first discovered the terracotta tippy pot display at the Oasis Restaurant near Milfontes in the Alentejo. How unusual, we thought, so I took a photograph.

Tippy pots at the Oasis restaurant, Milfontes

A couple of months later we decided to make our own version.

The height of our display was governed by the length of the rebar we already had, a ‘find’ at the local rubbish bins a few years previous. I confess, our version does look a little more precarious and almost defies gravity, however, as it has already withstood several storms with high winds (touches wood) the pots may look precariously balanced but it’s fine.

Materials

Support: Rebar or similar. Height dependent on how far you drive the support into the ground for stability, your design, or whether you can cut your central support. Our rebar was 50 inches. about 40″ above soil level

5 Terracotta Pots

Height: 11″ Diameter: 39″

Height: 8″ Diameter: 27″

Height: 7″ Diameter: 25″

Height: 6″ Diameter: 22″

Height: 5 1/2 ” Diameter: 19″

Method

Drive the rebar or whatever metal support you have available, into the ground so the stacked pots remain balanced and don’t fall over in the first gust of wind.

Add the first pot

Creating a tower planter- step 1

and fill with soil. I lined the first pot with plastic.

2. Thread the pots onto the centre support. To maintain the angle of the stacked pots we increased the size of the drainage hole in the third pot to maintain the angle.

How to Make a Tippy pot display

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How to Make a Tippy pot display

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How to Make a Tippy pot display

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How to Make a Tippy pot display

The finished project! I planted our display with succulents as the pots will dry out very quickly in the full sun. (I still have one more pot to plant)